Burning Memories
by CoRpAsItE
Summary: Not all memories or demons are meant to be faced. Some can be forgotten, left behind, or ignored. But can they be sold? Chris finds himself facing this question and more. One-Shot to battle Writer's Block.


**Burning Memories**

"You sure you want to do this, pal? It's a mighty fine piece of hardware you got there…" the southern drawl, nor the years of experience seeing weapons of this caliber can hide the fact that the portly man with the disheveled hair and unkempt facial scruff wants this weapon.

A deep sigh from the other man as one hand runs down the slide of the weapon, his face barely reflecting back at him, his face just as scruffy as his partner across the counter. They were all presented these firearms at a televised ceremony commemorating the establishment of Bravo Team within the Special Tactics and Rescue Service. To uphold justice and protect peace was the phrase spoken to each member of STARS as Police Chief Brian Irons handed each member their own personal firearm.

"Damned thing is a lie anymore…" the weapon isn't let go just yet though.

Out of the twelve that were issued with the three in storage for new members, only two remain. Over half of them were lost when Bravo Team was decimated, while only three made it out in one piece. His was lost almost as soon as they arrived at the landing zone, when a Cerberus as they are now known jumped at him while he was trying to save Joseph Frost. Jill maintained hold of her sidearm, as did Rebecca and Barry, while the only other Samurai Edge in service was destroyed along with Wesker when the mansion exploded.

"Some things just don't want to go away…" Chris Redfield looks up at the owner of the gun shop he stumbled into this cold winter night.

Wesker made it out of the mansion, brandishing his new strength and the Samurai Edge as weapons against his former compatriots. Chris got a taste of the anger and the handgun in Antarctica when Wesker reappeared. Protecting peace went out the window when Raccoon City was annihilated, but upholding justice could still be done as long as he could destroy Wesker. Chris sighs and clenches the barrel of the pistol before him, his mind replaying scenes of the fight, how one-sided it was.

"Look, son, I close up soon. You made a decision yet?" impatience oozed from each drawled-out word as Chris stared intently at the STARS emblem etched into the grip.

_Jill…._ Whereas his Samurai Edge had the basic wood-grain on the grip panel, Jill's was customized with an almost ebonized mahogany. She kept it through the mansion incident, through the destruction of Raccoon City and the events involving the T-Abyss virus when the BSAA was first formed. Chris talked her into leaving it at their home before they left for the location of Spencer's mansion in Eastern Europe. He had a really hard time of that too, as she was adamant about taking it…

_I intend to drain every last bullet of that firearm into the base of that bastard's skull, Chris! Revenge for every life that weapon couldn't save as his toys ravaged our home! It's JUSTICE, Chris!_

Chris won her over by stating that they need to end Umbrella, but that gun has the job of finishing what S.T.A.R.S. started: killing Wesker. Had he let her take it, would it make his trying to move on any easier? Jill isn't here anymore, and this is his last connection to his partner. Chris grits his teeth and forces his alcohol-infused brain to think long and hard on that gun resting before him.

"No, it's not time. There is something I need to do with it…" the handgun is slid from the counter and dropped back into the leather holster under Chris's left arm as the shop owner groans unhappily.

"Maybe one day, keep me in mind, pal, okay?"

Chris Redfield turns from the store with a new resolve on his face. He can't turn his back on the BSAA, not when it's something that he and Jill built, not when there is still Umbrella bio-ware on the Black Market. As snow begins to fall around him, sweaty fingers pull out the piece of paper handed to him by his boss this morning.

"Kijuju…."

A/N This story was an idea I had while doing a string of one-shots to help me overcome my Writer's Block.


End file.
